Atlanta vs Athens part 2

My family moved to Atlanta in the summer of 1991. I moved to Athens in the summer of 2001. I am not a Yankee. I may be one in my mind, but by the end of the coming school year, I will have lived in the Peach state for 20 years. Two decades. Despite my rants and complaints, Atlanta has been very good to me and my family (and when I say Atlanta, I really mean the great suburb of Roswell). Athens has just been better. It makes sense. I spent 10 years growing up, outgrew the burbs, moved to a new place for schooling/working, and then...

And then the iconic corner coffee shop that has sat in an old garage for as long as I can remember moved down the block. Is this symbolic? Have I outgrown Athens or am I just supposed to move down the block? I mean we can make anything into symbolism if we try hard enough.

A couple of days after the Zooey concert insanity, I got the chance to see Mates of State in Athens. I was me. I didn't go crazy with the wine, parking was free and easy, and this time I remembered the concert. In fact, it probably ranks in the top 5 of concerts I've seen here in Athens. Half of me stood there in wonder taking in the pure joy of their music while the other part of me started saying goodbye to this great city and all the joyful life-shaping moments its brought me.

I'm not saying anything for sure yet, but I have a hunch that some kind of change is a gonna come. Maybe it doesn't even have anything to do with moving

It may be crazy to pack up and move from a town like this, but it'd also be crazy to sit here while I watch all my friends move off, graduate, and get married. Pretty soon I'll be that creeper who lives in an apartment complex all alone amongst a bunch of people ten years younger. Let's not be that guy.